If the attacker's identity is confirmed, it would raise to eight the number of women suicide bombers so far this year.
That has raised concerns that extremists are making greater use of women as suicide bombers because explosive belts are easier to conceal under their traditional flowing Islamic robes and they are often not treated with the same suspicion as men.
The enemy is doing this since we've shut down other forms of attack that rely on vehicles or large bombs--or even male suicide bombers who can be searched readily.
It's bad enough that Islam in its harsher forms marginalizes women, depriving a country of half of its potential. It is hard to see the decline in economic progress in the short run with this attitude (but over the last 50 years it should be clear).
But when Islamic sensibilities lead to actual deaths on a larger and noticable scale, because nobody is willing to search Iraqi women, I think we can predict that before too long, women in Iraq will be scrutinized and searched for bombs despite the risk of men glancing at enticing pale female ankle flesh.
And so jihadi ideology will weaken just a little bit more in Iraq. Just another unintended consequence of al Qaeda deciding to invade Iraq which will marginalize those who survive the fight there.
